Norway's parliament stopped business this week to grab imaginary oars and row in unison. That's not a metaphor. Speaker Masud Gharahkhani struck his gavel, called members to attention, and led the chamber in the Viking Row chant — the supporters' ritual that has become the defining image of the 2026 World Cup.
It started on a Boston escalator. A group of Norwegian fans in Viking helmets rode upward, rocking back and forth, pulling those imaginary oars, chanting "Row! Row! Row!" GBH reporter Jeremy Siegel filmed it. The video went viral. Within days, hundreds of Norwegians were doing the same thing in the middle of Times Square — briefly overwhelming a communal yoga class in the process.
What 28 years of absence looks like when it ends
This is Norway's first World Cup since 1998. Twenty-eight years of failed qualifying campaigns, of watching from the outside. That context explains everything — the Viking helmets, the parliament session, the families waking three-year-olds up at midnight to watch matches.
Veslemøy Aga did exactly that. She and her husband decorated their living room as a Norwegian-themed pub — flags, scarves on the walls — then woke their boys, aged 9, 6 and 3, fifteen minutes before kickoff. When Norway scored, she said, "the boys rowed and danced." Her eldest, Ole, put it plainly when asked if the late night was worth it: "It might be 28 years until the next time. Of course we need to watch the games."
Hard to argue with that logic.
On the pitch, Norway have backed up the atmosphere. A 4-1 win over Iraq in Boston, then a win over Senegal — a result that confirmed their place in the knockout stage. After the Senegal game, the players did the Viking Row on the field themselves, drum included.
Haaland, Ødegaard, and the serious question
The fun story has a genuine football question underneath it. Norway have Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard — two of the best players in the world at their respective clubs. For a nation of 5.6 million people, that's a generational alignment that doesn't come twice. Gharahkhani said it simply: "After 28 years, we are finally in the World Cup and the team is really delivering. This is a huge thing for the nation."
Anyone backing a Norway deep run at the start of this tournament got long odds. Those odds are getting shorter. A side already through the group stage, built around a striker who wins Golden Boots for fun and a captain who ran Arsenal's attack all season — Norway in the last 16 is not a novelty bet anymore.
The Viking Row has spread to Boston bars, Times Square, and the Norwegian parliament. The team is through to the knockouts. Ole might not have to wait another 28 years after all.
